There are many networks of computers throughout the world and there is a need for the computers to communicate with each other across the network. To provide order and security, many networks require a computer wishing access to be authenticated before that computer is granted access. After establishing that the computer should be allowed to communicate over the network, it may be given an identification number so that the computer may be contacted by other computers on the network in accordance with network protocol. In general this process applies to a system designated as the Internet.
The Internet comprises a network of computers that interconnect many of the world's businesses, institutions, and individuals. The Internet, which means interconnected network of networks, links tens of thousands of smaller computer networks.
The Internet can be accessed directly through telephone lines with a device called a modem or indirectly through a local area network (LAN). Most users do not have the expertise to connect their computers and associated equipment to the Internet and/or finances to have a continuous connection to the Internet. Thus most users access the Internet through an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The ISP can distribute the costs of necessary equipment and telephone lines to many users on some time multiplexed basis. While an ISP may have access to only one server and a few modems for receiving incoming calls from users, some ISPs have access to hundreds and even thousands of modems and many servers to interface between users and one or more high speed telephone lines of at least DS1 standard communication capacity.
Usually the ISPs that charge the lowest prices to the user are the busiest and users often find that access to a low cost ISP is blocked by a “busy signal”. On the other hand, a user of the high priced ISPs seldom encounters busy signals. The high priced ISPs have fewer customers, can afford to add modems as needed and are not confronted with suddenly increased demands on equipment capacity.
Some ISPs use less expensive (i.e. slower rate, poorer quality or lower capacity) telephone lines or equipment to provide low cost and as a result the data transmission rate of communications between the user and the Internet may be substantially less than the capability of the users modem. Many sets of information on the Internet, such as Web pages, include pictures, pointers to other pages, music etc, that require large amounts of data to be transmitted for ultimate display. When a user is attempting to access material requiring the transmission of large volumes of data, a low data transmission rate equates to a long time spent waiting to obtain that data.
When a user first installs software in a computer to be used in connecting the computer to a given ISP, many items of information need to be provided to the software before the user can communicate with the ISP and be connected to the Internet. While some of the information such as the specific communication port to be used (i.e. com1 or com2) and the modem type used in the computer would be universal and would be identical regardless of the ISP used, other information is ISP specific. ISP specific type information would include the ISP dial-in number, a Password Authentication Protocol (PAP) identification number and a PAP password for that ISP.
Different ISPs provide different services to users. Some ISPs (no or low service) may offer only a connection to the Internet without technical help to a user connected to that ISP and further without any additional features. Other ISPs (full service) may offer many features such as encyclopedia type information, interactive games, access to otherwise costly databases, etc.
A user in a commercial environment may operate a computer that is connected to a LAN and also is connected to a modem. There are often business considerations that require some communications with the Internet be accomplished through the LAN and other, especially personal, communications be accomplished through a modem. If a single software entity such as a browser is used for both types of Internet connection, several items of information need to be altered with the accompanying chance for error and frustration of the user.
When a computer is subjected to stress such as by a large and sudden variation in supply voltage (i.e. an electrical spike), there may be corruption of data in the software and/or data banks of the computer. When such corruption concerns the data needed to communicate with the Internet, a considerable amount of time is often required to ascertain the cause of the failure to attain communication and further time is required to correct the problem.
Some Internet users are highly mobile and may need to access the Internet from various locations, some of which locations do not have a local phone number for communicating with the normally used ISP. Such a user either must pay the cost of a long distance call or access a different ISP after modifying the appropriate data the operating system's networking, dial-up-networking, or communications properties used to accomplish such access. Such modification always invites a chance for erroneous data entry in the process and the accompanying time required to rectify the situation.
Another problem related to network use is related to electronic mail which terminology is popularly shortened to email. Email is used to quickly communicate with other users of connected network terminals. The process is normally accomplished by sending a set of data including a header portion, a message body and sometimes one or more file attachments. Typically, the header contains the name of the recipient in a TO line, the sender in a FROM line and a subject in a SUBJECT line. Even if the message body and the attachments are scrambled or otherwise encrypted a persistent entity monitoring the email being sent to and from a given terminal may glean considerable information from the subject matter listed and from the number of messages sent between same parties. This information is typically sent in clear text (unencoded) to facilitate the delivery of email to the proper temporary storage facility, normally a post office box like repository of the service provider of the recipient, until such time as the recipient retrieves the email from the service provider. The recipient also uses the header information in determining priority of messages to be read.
A further problem is third party mail relay. This is a process whereby junk emailers use a service system other than their own to send massive amounts of mail without paying for the service. The massive amount of mail can so overload the system that an invaded system can crash, overload or otherwise be damaged. This overload is termed in the art as a denial of service attack. The overall process of sending massive amount of junk email is termed “spamming”. The third party mail relay process is also used to bypass other systems filters which are set up to block mail from the junk emailers system.
In view of the above, there exists a need to quickly and easily access the Internet from various locations, being able to access ISPs providing different types of services, using various adaptors (ie modem or LAN card) and being able to choose whether preference should be given to items such as cost and quality of service, without the user having to be concerned about correctly modifying associated data and parameters such as phone numbers, IDs, passwords etc used by the Internet software.
There is a further need to be able to send email to others in a manner which minimizes the possibility that unauthorized entities may be able to retrieve significant data from email header information.
Also there is a need to prevent junk emailers or other unauthorized parties from using the third party mail relay process in connection with a network service system.